Chou Farci: stuffed cabbage

This was enjoyably meticulous to make and turned out really well. It would be a fine component of an Alsace meal. The recipe came from Art of Eating magazine number 88 in 2011. It serves 4 generously, and can be cut in half as we've done in the photos below.

Served with L’Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien, Swiss country beer

I think it could use a higher cabbage-to-meat ratio, as it's pretty rich; we've sometimes added a little chili and lemon zest to brighten it up a bit. Don't bake in a high-sided dish or it will take forever to cook.

700     g       Pork Shoulder (1/4 fat to 3/4 lean), very cold
12      g       Salt
                Black Pepper
        hint    Nutmeg
1       clove   Garlic, finely chopped

Grind together the Pork, Salt, Black Pepper, Nutmeg, Garlic. Chill. If you're lazy, you can use prepared sausage, without the skin.

2               Onions, finely chopped (about 250g)
                Lard or fresh-tasting Olive Oil
1       head    Savoy Cabbage (about 1Kg)
2       large   Eggs, very cold
125     gr      White Breadcrumbs
large   handful Chopped Parsley
                Salt
                Pepper
6       slices  Pork Belly or Bacon
500     ml      Chicken Stock
1-2             Ripe Tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chipped

Sweat onions in a little fat until translucent but uncolored.

Discard tough outer leaves of cabbage; remove and discard central core.
Remove 12-15 outer leaves, carefully keeping them intact.

Carefully separate the leaves

Place each face down and carefully cut away the protruding portion of the rib to make it flush with the rest of the leaf.
Blanch in salted water until tender, 4-5 minutes; plunge into cold water and drain well.
Slice remaining cabbage into narrow strips; blanch, cool, drain.

 

Combine onions, sausage meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley in large bowl.
Season with salt and pepper. Knead well until mixed.

Of the 15 leaves, reserve the 4 smallest.
Lay the rest flat with concave side up.
Take half the stuffing and divide it among the large leaves, placing on each, according to its size, an approximately plum-sized piece. Pat out stuffing until it reaches within about an inch of the edges of the leaves.

Pork mixture added to leaves before spreading
Squeeze the water from the blanched cabbage strips and mix with the other half of the stuffing. Grease the bottom of an approximately foot-wide baking dish and place the smallest remaining leaf in the center, concave side up. On it place the stuffing-cabbage mixture and shape into a grapefruit-sized ball. Re-create the shape and appearance of the cabbage by first covering the ball with the remaining 4 small plain leaves, making sure the ribs rise from the bottom.

Add the stuffed leaves, one by one, starting with the smallest, distributing them evenly all around the ball's surface, stuffing-side in, and pressing firmly into place.

Place bacon or pork belly slices onto cabbage, radiating from the center down the sides like spokes of a wheel.
Pour Chicken Stock around cabbage to a depth of about 1/2 inch (1 cm)

Everything's better with Irene's bacon

Bake stuffed cabbage in a 325F (165C) oven until center reaches about 165F (73C), about 45-60 minutes. If the liquid evaporates below 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) add more stock (or water) to pan. Baste the cabbage once or twice toward the end of cooking.

Just out of the oven

Transfer the cooked cabbage to a warm serving dish. Pour the jus from the cooking vessel into saucepan, deglazing with a little water if necessary. Add tomato and boil briefly until reduced to thin but not watery sauce. Taste and season with salt, strain.

At the table, cut the cabbage into pie-shaped slices and spoon sauce over them. 

Radiccio and Prepared Chorizo variation

One evening, we threw together a variation of this with what we had in the house, a big head of red Radiccio, and four pieces of Mexican Chorizo; instead of stock, we used a can of industrial lager someone left in our fridge. And you know, it came out really well!  The weights of the ingredients were cut about in half. 

So if you're in a rush, give it a go!